UNIFIED W

Chapter 43: Irregular, part 8

After Hawk stormed out of the palace, angry and frustrated, King Prime the Seventh went to Erica, gave her a hug, and tried to cheer her up.

"Sorry you had to see your brother act that way. He doesn't mean any harm."

Erica closed her eyes while hugging her father. After they finished, the king walked to the window, and Erica joined him.

The king stood there in silence as the rest of the Prime family left. As soon as the last person exited the palace, the king began to speak to his daughter.

"Tell me, Erica: what does it take to be a great leader?"

Erica was caught off guard by her father's question and began to feel a bit nervous about what she wanted to say.

"For starters, being a strong figure of hope for the people who look up to you."

The king turned his head towards his daughter and then asked:

"What makes people want to look up to you?"

This question made Erica pause for a moment, but she immediately answered with the first thing that came to mind.

"Having strong moral judgment and not being afraid to put your foot down when needed makes you a good leader, I think."

When Erica said that, there was a short silence that followed. King Prime the Seventh smiled and placed his hand on Erica's head.

"You forgot the most important point of all."

As soon as she heard what her father said, she felt embarrassed and started to blush.

"The most important thing for a leader is to learn from the mistakes made by previous leaders and strive to do better."

Erica shook her head to show that she agreed with what her father was trying to say.

But suddenly, King Prime the Seventh became serious and looked at Erica intensely.

"I'm afraid that your brother is on a very dark path, and it reminds me of how cruel my father, King Prime the Sixth, used to be."

"How was Grandfather as a ruler?"

Erica quickly realized that her question made her father very uncomfortable.

He tried to hide his discomfort so that his daughter wouldn't feel she had asked the wrong question.

There was an awkward silence before King Prime the Seventh answered the question.

"He was a man who only cared about power and didn't give a second thought to anything, not even to his....."

King Prime the Seventh stopped himself before he could finish his sentence and tried to change the subject.

Erica walked towards the door, opened it, and before she shut it behind her, she looked back, gave her father a smile, and said:

"Don't eat dinner without me. I'll be out with Toki for a bit."

The king smiled back, and Erica then went outside to join her close friend, who was waiting outside the palace.

As they walked away, the king remained at the window, thinking quietly to himself.

'Erica, I'm sorry that you have to carry this burden, but you are the only hope for this world.'

***

Erica and her friend Toki walked together through the inner city, and as soon as people saw Erica, they ran to her and started greeting her.

Toki was hanging back and didn't say a word.

Her eyes were always lower than everyone else's, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep.